


i will buy the flowershop

by goinghost



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Episode: s03e13-14 Juno Steel and the Mega-Ultrabots of Cyberjustice, F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28968966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goinghost/pseuds/goinghost
Summary: She knew it was hard for Buddy to say what was on her mind without a rehearsal dinner, and in all their arguing, she didn’t think she’d ever gotten a concrete reason that Buddy wanted her to stay on the crew so bad. Maybe...maybe Buddy would give her one. If she asked.--Missing scenes from Mega Ultrabots of Cyberjustice
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay, Vespa Ilkay & Jet Sikuliaq
Comments: 17
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> here's a little pre-femslash february fic! i got this idea while driving and wrote it all in one sitting once i got back instead of writing the fic i'm actually writing for femslash february (look forward to a multichapter vesbud au from me in a few days). shoutout to leo and nova, who both made this fic much better by beta'ing it! and shoutout to my roommate who, even tho she's sick, still helped me with the phrasing of a couple lines i couldn't nail down. 
> 
> this fic has two chapters but i'm just posting both of them at once since the chapters are more organizational than anything! 
> 
> title from 'the gambler' by fun! 
> 
> no cws that i can think of for this one! just some good ol' fluff

Vespa Ilkay was trying very hard not to worry. 

She knew she’d have to face Buddy eventually. The way they’d left off their last argument left a sour taste in her mouth. Avoiding Buddy wasn’t exactly her favorite thing, and she knew that Buddy didn’t like it either, but she couldn’t help it if Buddy was refusing to see reason. Vespa Ilkay was a has-been. She’d been through too much to be cut out for this business anymore, and she wasn’t gonna be the one to stop The Great Buddy Aurinko from accomplishing her goals, not if she could help it. 

So why couldn’t Buddy just accept the fact that she was done and then they figure out what to do from there? Vespa wasn’t saying she was done with Buddy, just the mission. There was no way Vespa could ever be “done” with Buddy Aurinko. If she got her way, they’d spend the rest of their lives together as they should have been already. She hoped Buddy would feel the same way even when she was off the crew. 

The “repairs” Vespa had used as an excuse to get out of the argument didn’t take long, maybe an hour or two, and once she was done with that, she still had to figure out something to do with her hands. 

Vespa didn’t like sitting still. It’s why she had two specializations, medicine and murder. Picking up a knife while flipping through medical textbooks had seemed like a natural progression of her desire to get out of her own head sometimes. It helped her focus her mind. 

She could use some of that focus now. 

_Something to do_ , she thought. With no idea what Steel, Ransom, _or_ Rita were up to, she supposed she could try to find them and maybe spring a surprise check up on one of them, but if Vespa was being honest with herself, she’d rather not deal with that particular trio at the moment. Her nerves felt too raw to be rubbed against by her stupid coworkers. She didn’t even feel up to yelling at Ransom’s usual suspicious attitude. 

There was always the option of helping Sikuliaq with the Ruby 7. He’d been working diligently on repairs last time she’d checked. Maybe he could use another set of hands. That’s all Vespa wanted to be at the moment, just another set of hands. 

Making her way to where he’d set up with their resident getaway car, Jet was under the body of the car tinkering with something or other if the rhythmic metal _clangs_ were anything to go by. The Ruby whistled at her as she walked up to it to alert Jet to her approach and he slid out from under the car with a satisfied sigh. 

“Job well done?” She asked, nudging at a massively oversized wrench lying on the dirt ground of the island with her foot. 

“Yes, repairs have been going smoothly.” Jet nodded from his position on the ground. He lumbered to his feet. “I suspect this is because the Ruby 7 has had a hand in her own repairs. Many of the mechanical issues that have occurred appear to fix themselves within a short time before I am able to take a look at them.” He continued. “I have had to do very little work on it, yet it steadily runs smoother and smoother. It fascinates me.” 

Vespa blinked. So maybe her “help Jet with the Ruby” plan wasn’t going to go as well as she’d hoped. 

“Oh,” she paused. “So you don’t need any help with things?”

“I need help with a great many things. If you are offering, I would appreciate someone who could press on the gas and brakes while I run a few diagnostic tests.”

“Right, yeah, I can do that.” Vespa confirmed, sliding into the Ruby’s front seat. 

Jet walked over to a large toolbox that had been set up with more instruments than even Vespa had use for in the medbay. He selected a few strange looking items and set them on the ground in height order next to the underside of the car. 

“I am going underneath the Ruby again. Please listen for my instructions, but feel free to speak. I have found that another human’s voice can help ease one into concentration when doing repetitive tasks.” 

“Okay,” Vespa responded, mostly because she was unsure of what else to say.

Jet took his place under the car and she heard another metal _clang_. His smooth voice carried well through the open driver’s side door. 

“If you would, please press the gas down now, Vespa,” he said. “As far as you can push it.” 

Vespa nodded even though she realized that he couldn’t see her and did as he instructed, chewing on her lip in the silence that followed. The engine didn’t even whirr. Jet had said she should feel free to talk, but Vespa wasn’t sure what to talk about. She’d always been awkward with words. 

“So…” She started when the silence became unbearable, the awkwardness winning over her lack of conversational ideas, “What do you think of this planet?” 

“I have found our stay here to be enjoyable, given the circumstances,” Jet replied. “However, I’m aware that you haven’t been enjoying our time here, again given the circumstances.” 

“What?” Vespa felt tension coil in her gut like a knife wound. 

“Buddy has told me that the two of you have been having a disagreement.” He said, with a voice the texture of a river-worn stone. 

“She told you that?” Vespa couldn’t help but feel it like a kick in the ribs. Obviously the crew was gonna find out she was leaving eventually, but she’d hoped Buddy would at least talk to her before blabbing their business to everyone. 

“Not in so many words. Buddy Aurinko rarely admits to having a problem if she can help it. But, I have become adept at identifying the clues that she drops. I admit I do not know the specifics, but I do know it is something that would greatly alter your lives.” 

“Alter our lives…” Vespa trailed off. “Yeah, you could say that.” 

“I understand that I am an outsider in this situation, but if I might offer some advice?”

Vespa wasn’t even sure why he was asking at this point. He seemed content to be firmly in her business. 

“Go for it,” she sighed. 

“I have known Buddy for many years. While she is incredibly capable of choosing her words carefully, sometimes in her path to the right way to say things, she forgets to include substance. I do not know what it is that the two of you are discussing, but I do know that it has been affecting Buddy greatly. If you can think of a way for her to share her unfiltered thoughts on the subject, then perhaps it will shed some light for a conclusion to your argument.” 

Vespa blinked. Huh. Okay, maybe Sikuliaq was onto something. She knew it was hard for Buddy to say what was on her mind without a rehearsal dinner, and in all their arguing, she didn’t think she’d ever gotten a concrete reason that Buddy wanted her to stay on the crew so bad. Maybe...maybe Buddy would give her one. If she asked. Maybe she _needed_ to ask. 

The work on the Ruby only took them another half hour before Jet declared all of his tests done. Vespa couldn’t help the way her fingers ached from being so tightly clenched in anticipation of the immediate job in front of her ending. Now she had no excuse. 

With a small sigh, Vespa went off to find Buddy.


	2. Chapter 2

Buddy Aurinko was trying very hard not to worry. 

It was a futile task, she knew. Much like waiting for hours atop a radiation-filled lighthouse for the love of your life who you’d all but watched die. Perhaps that was why she couldn’t help but fight to make it work. 

Buddy was trying not to panic since she’d just gotten Vespa back, and now it seemed like Vespa wanted nothing more than to get away. All she needed to do was find the right thing to say to make her stay, she knew. Except, the right thing refused to fall fully-formed from Buddy’s lips. It was hard to not worry because if she lost Vespa to something as simple as her own ambition, she didn’t think she would ever be able to forgive the part of her that loved the thrill of crime. 

Buddy had a number of things to be worried about at the moment. But, by god, she was  _ trying.  _

It wasn’t working out for her. She’d practically paced a running track into the mangled floor of the Carte Blanche, where she’d been ever since Vespa had left. It was difficult to wrap her mind around the fact that Vespa had vacated the ship at all. A part of her refused to be quiet about the possibility that she would not be coming back. 

She shook her head, that was ridiculous. Unless Vespa planned to venture through dense jungle or swim to the next nearest landmass, there was no way she would be able to leave the area they’d commandeered for the time being. No, she was much too practical for that, even if she had plans to leave the crew, she wouldn’t do it until there was a spaceport she could safely get to. 

And, my, wasn’t that a scary thought that Buddy did not want to be thinking about at the moment. She shook her head gently and continued walking the rings of Saturn into the cracked paneling. No need to linger on that when there were other things she could be thinking about, such as how the crew was going to manage getting the Book now that they were thoroughly grounded. 

This, at least, occupied her thoughts for the next few hours as she tried to puzzle out a suitable plan. Of course, things had begun to veer off course when she’d tried to—very practically and with no emotion—account for if there were one less family member involved in the heist. 

Before she could stop them, her thoughts began spiraling. It felt as if she were still standing at the top of the lighthouse and looking forlornly at an unforgiving desert that would never return to her what she’d lost so long ago. 

She was interrupted from her thoughts by someone coming into the ship’s makeshift command center. There was Vespa, in all her green-haired beauty, stomping her boots along the floor that Buddy had been wearing down for hours. 

“Vespa,” she breathed out, striving to keep her voice even. “Darling, are you finished with your repairs?”

“You could say that,” Vespa replied. Her voice was soft and contemplative. The familiar sound told Buddy that her love had something on her mind and was trying to find the right words to tell her. She let the silence envelope them for a few moments longer before she couldn’t stand it any longer. 

“Vespa,” she said again. “Is there something that you need?” 

More silence stretched on. Buddy almost assumed Vespa hadn’t heard her. Until finally, she spoke. 

“Yeah, Bud, there is something I need.” She moved closer to Buddy, reaching for Buddy’s hand and squeezing her fingers gently once Buddy offered it. “I need you to tell me why you want me on this crew.” 

“Why—Vespa, what—?” But Buddy was cut off before she could try and express more of her confusion. 

“You know why I want to leave,” Vespa took a deep breath before continuing, “I’ve made myself pretty clear. But I feel like we’ve been talking in circles about why I should stay. That’s why I’m so deadset, Bud. I can’t think of a good reason you’d have for keeping me around. I’m asking you to give me one.” 

A reason, huh?

“Just one?” Buddy asked without thinking. Then the words caught up with her. Clearing her throat, Buddy considered what she would say next. Oh, she could give Vespa reasons. She hadn’t exactly prepared for this, but that was of no matter. Buddy had a few phrases stocked up for just this occasion that she was sure could work. It was only a matter of pushing the right buttons. 

“You’re an incredibly capable member of this family, darling. You—” 

“Bullshit.”

“I’m sorry?” Buddy asked, blinking. 

“I don’t want bullshit, Bud. I don’t want to hear why Captain Aurinko wants me on her crew. I want to know what Buddy, my  _ partner,  _ thinks. No practiced lines, or careful platitudes. Just from the heart. Why do you want me to stay?” 

_ From the heart... _ The words sent shivers of terror down Buddy’s spine, if she were being honest with herself.

She felt the machine in her chest beat stutteringly and for a minute was almost relieved at the idea that mechanical failure could get her out of this interaction. But no, this was necessary. If it meant that Vespa Ilkay stayed in her life, she would brave a thousand uncomfortable situations. She had _ already  _ braved Martian radiation deteriorating her body for her love. One silly conversation was nothing. 

“From the heart, I—” she started, her mind spinning trying to calculate what she would need to say next to miraculously solve the situation. Except that wasn’t what Vespa wanted. She did not want miraculous words, she wanted a  _ reason. _

Well, Buddy could do that. 

“Vespa Ilkay, from the moment I first caught sight of you escaping my father’s prison, from the day I decided to steal your score from your pockets and you pulled a knife on me in an alleyway, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And until now, thievery was how I planned on living that life, so to hear you say you were finished sounded like you were saying you were done being there with me.”

She took a breath, then continued. 

“I can’t stand the thought of going another minute without seeing you, let alone dropping you off at some spaceport and spending our time together through comms calls until my next break. I want you in my life, in all aspects, even the more unsavory ones. I don’t want any possibility of separation to mar our relationship again. I—I suppose there’s a custom for that, isn’t there?” 

Buddy reached into her pocket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper with some code she’d thought of written on it. She took the paper and shaped it into a small ring, holding it out to Vespa as she got on one knee.

“I’m—well, ill-prepared for this, to say the least, but I feel it’s the best way to show you how much I desperately want you to be with me. Vespa Ilkay, will you marry me?” 

Vespa’s eyes were wide, unshed tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She looked to be at a total loss, which wasn’t too far off from how Buddy felt at the moment, so at least the playing field was even, so to speak. 

“Bud…”

“Typically, a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ is expected in response, darling.”

“Yes!” Vespa all but shouted. She knelt down in front of Buddy to pull her into a kiss. Their lips pressed softly against each other while Buddy’s hand came up to cup Vespa’s cheek and Vespa’s fingers tangled through Buddy’s hair. 

They stayed like that until both of their knees began to protest their poor treatment, and they stood up, still attached together. 

Vespa pulled Buddy into an embrace and whispered into her hair, “I didn’t realize you thought I was gonna leave you. I could never. Crime being a part of your life doesn’t mean I can’t be too.” 

“Well, I understand that now that you’ve said yes,” Buddy whispered back, her tone gentle and soft. “But, truthfully, Vespa, if you’re with me then I feel as if I could do anything. I would become a baker for you if that’s what you wanted.” 

“I don’t want you to be a baker, Bud.” Vespa laughed. “But...maybe it is time to retire, for both of us. After—after we get the Curemother Prime, of course.” 

“You—you’re not going to leave the crew?” Buddy asked, wide-eyed. 

“I think I’ve got one more heist left in me. Besides, you could use my help with Steel and Ransom on the team.” Vespa’s eyes softened impossibly more, “Buddy Aurinko and Vespa Ilkay’s last big job: destroying the pharmaceutical industry in its tracks. Sounds about right, for us.” 

Buddy laughed. 

“I’d say it does, darling,” she said with a relieved smile. 

“And then when we’ve got what we need, we can work on planning the wedding of the century to match the greatest criminals this side of the Outer Rim,” Vespa said, smiling crookedly back at Buddy.

“I do like the sound of that.”

Buddy kissed Vespa again, returning to their embrace. They stayed like that until Jet interrupted them in a rather compromising position to tell them that Rita, Ransom, and Juno were “back with the Book” when Buddy hadn’t been aware they’d  _ left  _ at all. She quickly composed herself so that she could deal with  _ that  _ situation, but not before giving Vespa one last sweet kiss and promising to talk more of their plans that night in bed. 

Even as she set out to scold the troublemaking trio, she could barely fight off a dopey grin that threatened to overtake her features. Vespa Ilkay was not leaving her. Better yet, Vespa Ilkay was going to be her  _ wife. _

Buddy couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than that. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! 
> 
> as always you can follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/GHOSTZVNE), where i talk about vesbud a lot! 
> 
> comments and kudos make me feel like buddy aurinko just proposed to me so please leave some if you feel so inclined!


End file.
